BAY CITY, MI — The preliminary examination of a Detroit man charged with holding up a trio of Bay County convenience stores in 2009 was delayed today due to the defendant being preoccupied with other court matters in Saginaw County.

The hearing for Otis Green, 45, was to start at 3 p.m. today. Attorneys and Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly were ready to proceed, but after an hour and a half past the scheduled time, a sheriff's deputy informed the court that Green was in court in Saginaw.

The court did not specify what matters called for Green to be in front of a Saginaw County judge.

Bay County Assistant Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks said he had three witnesses in the courthouse ready to proceed with the hearing, which he expects to take two to three hours.

Green is charged with four counts of armed robbery, a life offense, two counts of felony firearm and one count of carrying a weapon with unlawful intent. Prosecutors allege Green on Sept. 19, 2009, brandished a handgun in holding up the 7-Eleven stores at 3543 Old Kawkawlin Road in Bangor Township and 1510 Kosciuszko Ave. in Bay City and then, two days later, used a knife to rob the BP station at 3790 N. Euclid Ave. in Bangor Township. He was not arraigned on the counts until July 17, 2012.

Green's criminal history goes back several decades. His first prison stint began in 1987 and he has been in federal custody since September 2010, having been arrested on suspicion of being involved with the Marshall Organization, an alleged multi-state drug trafficking ring.

Green in March 2012 pleaded guilty to a federal count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.